FOX 32 Sunday: Reporter’s Notebook: Kirk keeps quiet this inauguration
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By Mike Flannery, FOX 32 News Political Editor - bio | email
CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -
On this inauguration weekend in Washington, one voice we may not hear will be that of Senator Mark Kirk, one of our state's highest-ranking Republicans on Capitol Hill.
Staffers told me Kirk won't be doing broadcast interviews or live appearances and that's too bad. Since his return a few weeks ago, we haven't heard much from him.
Kirk has been a close ally, fundraiser for and supporter of the man we spoke to earlier, GOP State Chairman Patrick Brady. His Republican allies need Kirk to come back strong. But so does the whole state and the country. Kirk is one of a shrinking band of Washington politicians who have occasionally been willing to cross the aisle and work with the other party. He is, for example, regarded as a potential swing vote on the President's recent gun proposals.
You may recall that, in the mid-'90s, then-President Clinton's Assault Weapons Ban passed by one vote. With several Democrats expected to vote against President Obama's AWB, both sides in this debate are focused on Kirk.
That role allows Kirk to wield more influence than is typical for a first-term senator. That could be good for Illinois and for America.
State Senator John Cullerton talks about the $400 million he believes a big expansion of casino gambling would bring to the beleaguered state treasury.
State Senator John Cullerton talks about the $400 million he believes a big expansion of casino gambling would bring to the beleaguered state treasury.
Tanya Triche with the Illinois Retail Merchants Association says passing the bill to raise minimum wage to $10 an hour would hurt our already fragile economy.
Tanya Triche with the Illinois Retail Merchants Association says passing the bill to raise minimum wage to $10 an hour would hurt our already fragile economy.
Mike Flannery, along with a handful of other Chicago TV journalists, will be inducted Friday into the prestigious "Silver Circle" of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Mike Flannery, along with a handful of other Chicago TV journalists, will be inducted Friday into the prestigious "Silver Circle" of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Chicago Chapter.
